hondo in seattle

It's true that lots of posters wanted to draft Wilson in Round 3. I was (half-heartedly) one of them. But my opinion was based entirely on media reports and highlight film. I never saw the guy play an entire game. Like a broken clock, even I'm right twice a day. Lots of us will make hypothetical draft selections that will pan out. Playing draft guru is like any other game of chance. You win some, you lose some. But professional GMs improve their odds by intensive research by a team of experienced scouts that none of us have the support, time or expertise to replicate. I'm going to guess that if we knew everything about Wilson that Buddy knew, we wouldn't have taken him either. Now, it might prove true that those reservations were groundless. We'll see. Remember, even the guru, Bill Walsh, recommended Trent Edwards. Great MLB batters hit .300 and the best NFL GMs aren't much better. I'm not going to condemn Nix for not drafting Wilson. Every single NFL GM - without exception - misses on some picks. It's the nature of the business. I'm nore interested in the totality of Nix's work. And it seems to me that over the past two years we've been acquiring good NFL talent faster than we've been losing it - and more efficiently than the average NFL team.

This is a good conversation. Up until now, I was happy with Nix not using a pick on a QB. There were bigger holes to fill. But I really hope we take a QB in 2013. I like Fitz and he's better than some Bills QBs in recent memory. But he's no Jim Kelly and not in the Top Ten of the NFL today. I think the rest of the roster is strong enough now that QB becomes a draft weekend priority - and I hope Nix sees it the same way.

TJack isn't here to motivate Fitz. I think Fitz is already entirely motivated. Motivation isn't Fitz's issue - it's talent. Fitz isn't a bad QB but he's not a great one either. But whatever Fitz's flaws may be, he's dramatically better than VY or TT. If Fitz got hurt, our season would be over. Last year Gailey apparently decided a Fitz with broken ribs is still better than a healthy Thigpen. That's why TJack was brought here - to be the backup and take over the team if Fitz gets hurt. For a throwaway draft pick, we get some depth at a position where it's desparately needed.

+1

Both the Vikes and Seahawks at one time thought Jackson was starting material. They were apparently wrong in that assessment. But he seems like a good back up. And he seems like a Gailey type player - a mobile QB who's good in the locker room and stays out of trouble off the field.

Seattle fans know TJack better than we do so I thought it might be interesting to know what they were saying. Below is a sample from the Seattle Times. Most seem to think he's a classy guy, a good teammate and a tough competitor... "Tavaris seemed like a great teammate and hard worker. Never complained and always battled. I wish him nothing but the best." "Best if luck in Buffalo T-Jack. You're a class act and gritted through a painful injury last year to give it your best. I hope you have an awesome season!" "I would like to thank TJack. He came here knowing that his role would be as a caretaker. He played through an injury. He kept us competitive as PC rebuilt this team. Although we all realize he was not the answer at QB, we should thank him for his dedication and commitment." "It was time to move on. I've always said it, the guy is the definition of mediocre . 17-17 record as a starter confirms that quite accurately." "I just wanted to rep that I've always been a T-Jack fan of how he did last season, and that I appreciate him, and wasn't putting him down bc he has been all class while a Seahawk." "Zero surprise - the guy is dead weight right now." "Never heard a selfish word out of the guy! Good luck in Buffalo, TJ. You're a class act. Buffalo's getting a reliable backup who's not afraid to get grass stains on his uniform." "I liked Tarvaris,. Though it wasn't always consistent, he threw some amazing passes, especially considering his injury." "Best of luck TJack. You were a warrior last year with the torn pec. Happy you found a soft landing. Buffalo should finish 2nd in the East and have a chance at a wild card." http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/display.php?source_id=2018999426&source_name=mbase

Bayless isn't the most astute observer of the NFL. And a few members of this board who agreed with Bayless ought to feel a little humbler now. VY as starter? He can't even make the team. VY will be replaced on the roster but a guy who was going to get cut from Seattle, after getting replaced as a back up in Philly by a guy who was cut in Buffalo (TE).

Gailey has said we're keeping Brad Smith as the #3. Seems like VY and Thigpen are both out. Remember, the #3 QB is simply the 3rd string QB nor is he, even in Chan's mind, the Wildcat QB. The #3 QB is an extra player who can suit up and not count against your game day total. So you want someone versatile. Brad Smith is not a great QB, but he is versatile.

Preseason is only preseason and I'm always cautious to read too much into it. But the shortcomings of the passing game (point #1) are impossible to ignore. Our D won't be Top Five but it will be much improved from last year. Our running game will be fine as long as everyone stays healthy. But our passing game has not looked good at all.

I'm not sure I'm ready to plunk down $70 but I do appreciate your detailed review so I can make an informed decision.

Yeah, Potter's leg is an interesting issue. Do you keep one less OL? One less LB? What positional depth do you sacrifice for long kickoffs? Gailey probably won't give up the #3 QB position which is unique. If the NFL is going to allow you suit up an extra player on game day as long as that player is your emergency (#3) QB, then you ought to take advantage of that. We cannot call Potter or some RB the #3 QB. The NFL wouldn't allow it. The #3 QB has to be an actual QB. That's why Nix quickly went after Brad Smith and paid him a pretty penny. We get a guy we can legitimately label our #3 QB but will get on the field in other ways. I'm really impressed that the Bills immediately understood the possibilities of the new rule and took advantage of them.

I saw this in a football magazine once (forget which one). The combined record of the NFL was something like .600. I wrote the editor to ask if the NFL was now playing games against the CFL that counted for record.

This solves a lot of Chan's problems. Now he knows what players to cut since Madden rating are always accurate. Seems Thigpen is out (even Brad Smith is rated higher). Hagan and R. Martin will stick as WRs while Namaan is on the bubble and TJ will be cut.

Yeah, when you go 4 wide, I think you need 6. And when you put 4 WRs out there at the same time, you know you'll have some injuries. Seems we need to start the season with 6.

I'm not sure those who want to cut Smith understand the new NFL rules. THe #3 QB is not simply the third string QB. It's a special position in and of itself. The NFL now allows teams to dress and play an emergency #3 QB but this player does not count against your team total. In other words, if you designate someone as a #3 QB, he's an extra player on game day. So what Gailey wants is a #3 QB who can actually contribute in other ways since he won't see the field as the QB leading your offense unless #1 and #2 both get hurt and that's not likely. Last year - the first year of the new rule - most #3's simply sat on the bench in their pads and did nothing. Smith actually played and contributed. Smith can return kicks, play WR and run the wild cat. He might not have been great at any of those things but at least he contributed on the field. If we made VY our #2 and Thigpen our #3, Tyler would sit on the bench and do nothing for the team because he's not a multidimensional player. At best, he might contribute by holding a clipboard. There's no point in having a conventional QB as your #3. If we did have some QB injuries and had to go down our depth chart, it wouldn't be hard to find a street FA of Thigpen's calibre to come in and help us. But your season's screwed in any case if you've lost both your #1 and #2 to injuries. If the NFL allows us to dress a #3, we might as well dress someone who can do other things. What FA QBs out there can do more things than Smith? I'm happy we have a coach and GM who understood the implications of the new rule quickly.

I think we should do whatever Nix thinks we should do. Buddy knows far, far more about Troup's ability and medical status than I do.

All this stuff used to annoy me, too. But maybe because I'm gettting old, I now only laugh when NFL players, coaches and commentators butcher the English language. After all, language exists to communicate feelings and ideas and while many in the NFL may not be elegant in their communication, we get what they are trying to say. It would be a more boring world, actually, if we all talked the same without slang, neologisms and mixed metaphors, and only with the best of grammar. I may not be entirely sure what a "down hill runner" is but it's more colorful than hearing again and again that a certain back is a "straight-ahead runner" who's "best between the tackles."

I was thinking the same. I hope Eddins is great at rushing the passer but at that light weight, it's hard to imagine he can shed blockers and make plays in run support.

I hate to say this but JP and even TE threw better deep balls than Fitz. And I say that despite being generally happy with Fitz as our QB. Fitz has enough skills to take us to the playoffs. But the deep ball isn't his forte while it is TJ's. I wonder if Fitz's work with Coach Lee will improve his long ball any??? Let's hope.

"And behold "And, behold, there came a man named Jairus and he slew the Philistine named Brady and with his unvanquished brethren smote all their enemies on the battlefield." Hondo 8:42 You could conclude people are just ignorant. But Jairus is an unusual name while the -ius ending is common in Latin/Roman names such as Julius, Marius, Demetrius, and so on.

I'm not a Madden guy but I noticed only 5 players have higher ratings. It's good to see he's not underrated, as Kyle Williams - for example - often is, just because he plays in Buffalo.

I think you might give him too much credit in the article but he was an active Bills booster and I'm thankful for that. It wasn't his fault he was injured for so long, nor was it his fault that he couldn't successfully transition to a 3-4 DE at this point in his career. Nix will roll the dice sometimes and this time it didn't work out. I wish Shawne luck where ever he goes. He was a classy Bill if never a very productive one on the field. Incidentally, here's what Nix had to say about Merriman: "He can play. He did everything. He's been healthy since OTAs. He hasn't missed anything. He's very attentive in meetings. He's worked hard in practice, and he's played really good in spots in the games. He's a hard worker and he's done everything he could do. We think we've been patient, but there comes a point where we felt like we needed to move on and look down the road so these young guys will get a shot."

I'm actually not that frustrated. I was not expecting a storybook season with us winning all our preseason games and dominating the AFCE to earn a home game in the playoffs. We have some talent but not yet enough for a fairy tale season. I expect us to struggle, have problems, but hopefully sneak into the playoffs anyway. My prediction for impact players is mainstream. I think Mario will do great on defense, though our D will have some other stars too. And I think Freddie is the engine that drives the train on Offense.

I'm assuming Merriman was released early so he could catch on with another team while the Bills had become convinced they would keep Kyle Moore instead of Merriman. Here's Mark Gaughan's article on Moore: http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article1004799.ece?two-bills-drive In summary, Gaughan says Moore was misused in Tampa as a 3-4 DE. He's a better fit for a 4-3 and has "looked good" in camp. Gailey says: "He has done a good job, He has to learn to play every aspect of the game. That is his thing right now. Kyle can rush the passer. We have to make sure everything else is in sync with our football team." In other words, it seems Moore isn't as good against the run as he is pressuring QBs.

I had heard Kyle Moore has looked good but thought it unlikely he'd beat our Merriman, especially this early. Shocking.